Wednesday, March 22, 2023
Round-up of important news from major Korean dailies and from international media today

 

The Korea Post ( www.koreapost.com )

Gangwon Province to host a month-long Forestry Exhibition from Sept. 22”
"Under the theme of 'the World, the Future of Humanity, and Finding in the Forest', the 2023 Gangwon Forestry Exhibition will be held in Goseong, Sokcho, Inje, and Yangyang for a month from Sept. 22 to Oct. 22 this year," said Governor Kim Jin-tae of Gangwon Province. This was disclosed at a recent interview with Kim Jin-tae conducted by The Korea Post media, publisher of 3 English and 2 Korean-language news publications since 1985. Governor Kim said, "Forests in Gangwon-do account for 63 percent of the nation's forest area, which is the lungs of Korea, the ecological axis of the Korean Peninsula, and the driving force behind carbon-neutral green growth."


The New Uzbekistan – Reforms of Public Services for the Benefit of the People
Uzbekistan’s first Public Service Centres (PSCs) were established five years ago, as a means of ensuring wider use of public services, reducing the time and financial costs of accessing services, and increasing the population’s satisfaction with how state bodies serve them. PSCs deliver services to individuals and legal entities using the ‘one stop’ principle, by which the public can access a service through one visit to a single office. Delivering fast, high-quality and transparent service requires avoiding bureaucracy and administrative obstacles. It requires the ability to transfer documents and information digitally between offices.


Korea Recycled Materials signs a joint research MOU with SK Ecoplant
Korea Recycled Materials (Co-CEOs Park Byung-hoon, Seo Dong-hyun) and environmental and energy companies SK Ecoplant signed a joint research MOU on March 16, 2023, to demonstrate eco-friendly gypsum manufacturing technology that recycles by-products of semiconductor production processes. Korea Recycled Materials was selected as an excellent company in the eco-friendly field for related patented technology at the Contech Meet-Up Day ceremony, a technology contest for small and medium-sized companies and startups held at SK Ecoplant on November 21, 2022.

 

 

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Chosun Ilbo (http://english.chosun.com)

Japan Invites Yoon to G7 Summit in May
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on Monday invited President Yoon Suk-yeol to the G7 Summit in Hiroshima in May. Presidential spokesman Lee Do-woon told reporters that the invitation is seen as a "positive outcome of the Korea-Japan summit" last week in Tokyo. Korea, Japan and the U.S. are apparently in talks to hold a three-way summit on the sidelines of the G7 meeting. Kishida, who is visiting New Delhi, said the leaders of Korea, Australia, Brazil, Indonesia, Morocco, Vietnam, and the Cook Islands as well as the heads of the International Monetary Fund and OECD have been invited to the G7 Summit.


Gwanghwamun Plaza to Be Lit up to Promote Busan World Expo Bid
Gwanghwamun Plaza in downtown Seoul will be lit up to promote Korea's bid to bring the World Expo 2030 to Busan. The bid committee said Monday that the plaza will be decorated with multimedia and light installations to show what the expo is to the public, from March 30 until April 3. Experts from the Bureau International des Expositions will visit Busan to conduct an on-site inspection from April 2 to 7. The country's top conglomerates including Samsung, Hyundai and SK will also participate in the promotion to help Korea win the bid to hold the expo.

 

Masks Come off on Public Transport

The mask mandate on public transportation was finally lifted after two years and five months on Monday morning. People can go unmasked on buses, subways, taxis, trains, passenger ships and airplanes as well as pharmacies in superstores or train stations. But they still have to wear masks at high-risk facilities like stand-alone pharmacies, hospitals and nursing homes. The government still recommends that passengers wear masks on crowded buses or subways during rush hours.

 

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Joongang Ilbo (https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com )

Korea, Japan to restore cooperation on 'common interests': Yoon
Korea and Japan will swiftly restore consultative bodies discussing common interests between the two countries, President Yoon Suk Yeol said in a televised Cabinet meeting Tuesday. Yoon during the meeting explained the results of his bilateral summit with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida during his trip to Tokyo last Thursday and Friday and plans to promote bilateral cooperation in various fields such as security, economy and culture. We have confirmed that we are the closest neighbors and partners to cooperate in pursuing common interests in security, economy and the global agenda,”

 

Workweek reform hurts public support for Yoon, PPP
The controversy over the government’s proposed workweek reform continues to grow, harming public support for the president and his party. In his first meeting since returning from Japan, President Yoon Suk Yeol ordered his staff to come up with measures to reduce public anxiety over working hour reform. President Yoon particularly emphasized compensation for extended working hours, namely, wages and vacation. The government has met with a backlash since announcing plans to increase the flexibility of the 52 hour workweek system on March 6, especially from young people.

 

Samsung Electronics developing 'robot platform'
Samsung Electronics is developing “a robot platform,” its top executive said Tuesday, citing robotics as the electronics company’s “new growth engine.” Samsung Research is currently developing a Samsung robot platform,” said Han Jong-hee, Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman when answering a question about the company’s plan for the robot business during a press conference held Tuesday. Samsung will release EX1, a robot to assist the elderly with exercise, this year, added Han.

 

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The Dong-A Ilbo (http://english.donga.com/)

Macron makes strides in his pension reform
French President Emmanuel Macron will finally see his pension reform to raise the retirement age from 62 to 64 years being adopted as he narrowly survived two no-confidence motions tabled by opposition parties which fiercely resisted the president's strong drive for reform even by overriding the parliament. Macron, who even risked his political career for the reform, can now move ahead with his plans in earnest after six years since he first proposed it.

 

US State Department releases Report on Human Rights Practices
The U.S. State Department’s 2022 Country Report on Human Rights Practices: North Korea revealed that the country committed extensive acts of human rights violations such as deliberately breaking the legs or severing Achilles tendons of North Korean laborers working in China, Russia, etc. to prevent them from escaping and suffered repatriation. Reportedly, those who watched the South Korean Netflix series “Squid Game” were punished severely, defining Korean culture as antiregime.

 

S. Korea’s first civilian test launch vehicle fired successfully
The first step to launch a civilian-made space launch vehicle into space has been taken. South Korean startup Innospace has successfully launched its test launch vehicle, “Hanbit-TLV,” which was entirely built with domestic technology, advancing the development of an actual launch vehicle aimed to be placed in orbit by next year. On Tuesday, the South Korean space startup announced the successful test flight of Hanbit-TLV from the Alcantara Space Center of the Brazil Air Force.

 

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Maeil Business News Korea (http://www.pulsenews.co.kr/)

South Korea’s exports expected to fall for sixth straight month in March
South Korea is expected to see a sixth consecutive month of declining exports in March, with overseas shipment down from a year earlier in the first 20 days of the month. According to the Korea Customs Service on Tuesday, the country’s provisional export reached $30.95 billion from March 1 to 20, a 17.4 percent drop from the same period last year, while imports fell 5.7 percent to $37.27 billion. The daily average export value, considering the number of working days, fell by 23.1 percent. There were 14.5 working days during this period, one more day than last year’s corresponding period.

 

Korea’s Democratic Party to propose a bill to raise deposit insurance limit
South Korea’s main opposition Democratic Party is expected to propose a bill to raise the limit on individual deposit insurance for the first time in 22 years on mounting concerns that the bankruptcy of Silicon Valley Bank in the U.S. could adversely affect the financial market. According to an opposition party committee that focuses on measures to deal with economic crises on Monday, it is planning to raise the cap on individual deposits protected by the government to more than 100 million won ($76,775) by revising the deposit insurance act after approval by the parliament’s Deposit Insurance Committee.

 

Korea mulls resuming financial ministerial meeting with Japan
South Korea’s Ministry of Economy and Finance is considering resuming a financial ministerial meeting with Japan to discuss measures for economic cooperation between the two countries, according to a government source. Following his meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida last Thursday, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol said that he and Kishida “agreed to promptly restore bilateral consultative bodies to discuss common interests between the two countries, including strategic dialogues between diplomatic and economic authorities.”

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HanKyoReh Shinmun (http://english.hani.co.kr)

N. Korea simulates nuclear strike, stresses need for active nuclear attack posture
On Sunday, North Korea announced it had launched a KN-23 tactical ballistic missile to test the operational reliability of its nuclear explosion control devices and nuclear warhead detonators, successfully detonating the device in the air above the ocean. Particularly concerning is how this missile puts the entire territory of the South within reach. North Korea’s Rodong Sinmun reported that the country’s leader, Kim Jong-un, guided tactical drills simulating a tactical nuclear counterattack over the weekend.

 

Why is Seoul playing dumb about Japan’s unlawful colonial rule?
If one negates oneself for the sake of the future, who is that future for? Moreover, if that future seeks the extinction of the self, what purpose does this negation serve? Self-negation through self-sacrifice may be a noble religious act, but if those in power use their power to force victims of atrocities to make sacrifices, then this is just plain violence. If the head of state denies national identity, then he has given up the right to represent the country. Similarly, if a Korean president aims for a future far detached from international peace or peaceful unification, this goes against his constitutional obligations.

 

As Kim Jong-un raises nuclear threat, now’s no time for Yoon to be basking in afterglow of Japan summit
North Korea has once again cranked up its nuclear threat against South Korea. While overseeing a “virtual comprehensive tactical drill for a nuclear counterattack” on Saturday and Sunday, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un stressed that the North must finalize its “nuclear attack posture.” It’s deeply concerning to hear the rumblings of war on the Korean Peninsula at the juncture of North Korea’s nuclear threats and large-scale military exercises between South Korea and the US. The North Korean media announced on Monday that the military had test-launched the KN-23 tactical ballistic missile to mimic a nuclear strike on key targets in South Korea.

 

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The KyungHyangShinmun (http://english.khan.co.kr/ )

Why Yield When They Have Not Repented?” Even Yoon’s Supporters Turn Away
The government and the ruling People Power Party (PPP) have all argued to block public criticism of the summit with Japan, but their self-praise of the summit ended up fueling public opposition. On March 20, comments poured out online claiming that the boasting of the presidential office was far from public opinion. On social media including Twitter, people posted a string of reactions, such as, “He opened the hearts of the Japanese people and pierced the hearts of the citizens of the Republic of Korea” and “How can one who injures the hearts of his own people be the president of the Republic of Korea?”

 

National Treasury Is Empty after Tax Cuts for the Rich, But the Government Is Trying to Fill It by Restoring Taxes on Gas
The government is agonizing over the possibility of extending tax cuts on gas, which end next month. The fiscal burden has increased after the government increased tax cuts on fuel last year, reducing tax revenues. However, if the government raises the fuel tax, it could stimulate consumer prices to go back up just when the inflation has slowed down. According to the Ministry of Finance and Economy on March 20, the government collected over 11.1 trillion won in transport, energy and environment tax last year, down by slightly under 5.5 trillion won from the previous year.

 

Increasing Number of “Bureaucratic Mafia” Outside Board Members: One in Three Was a Former Prosecutor
This year, 38.8% of newly appointed outside board members of major corporations in South Korea turned out to be former bureaucrats, and one in three of these directors had served in the Prosecution Service, just like President Yoon Suk-yeol. The Kyunghyang Shinmun analyzed the professional history of 116 candidates for outside board members (reflected multiple times when the candidate served as an outside director of more than one company) of 180 listed companies affiliated to the nation’s top thirty business groups newly appointed in the annual general meeting of shareholders this year.

 

 

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KBS(http://world.kbs.co.kr/service)

US Condemns N. Korea's Missile Provocation
The United States has strongly condemned North Korea's latest missile provocation. In a press briefing on Tuesday, State Department deputy spokesperson Vedant Patel issued the condemnation of the North's March 19 ballistic missile launch that came just three days after the North's most recent ICBM launch. The spokesperson said that the launch is in violation of multiple Security Council resolutions, and is the latest in a series of launches that pose a threat to the North's neighbors.

 

Parties Clash in Parliament over Yoon's Push to Improve Seoul-Tokyo Ties
Rival parties clashed during Tuesday's meeting of the National Assembly's foreign affairs committee over the outcome of the South Korea-Japan summit. The main opposition Democratic Party labeled the summit as pro-Japanese and a diplomatic catastrophe which constitutes grounds for a presidential impeachment. Citing the disputed compensation plan for wartime forced labor victims, Rep. Kim Sang-hee questioned whether Yoon was the president of South Korea.

 

Gov't to Maintain Emissions Target, Lower Goal for Industrial Sector
The government has decided to maintain the original 40-percent reduction target in greenhouse gas emissions from 2018 to 2030 while lowering the industrial sector’s goal. In the basic fulfillment plan announced on Tuesday, the Presidential Commission on Carbon Neutrality and Green Growth kept the overall target from 2021 but lowered the objective of the industrial sector from 14-point-five to eleven-point-four percent of 2018 levels. The commission cited difficulties in the supply of raw materials and technological prospects as the reason for the adjustment.

 

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Yonhap (http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr )

S. Korea fully restores bilateral military information-sharing pact with Japan
South Korea on Tuesday fully restored its military intelligence-sharing pact with Tokyo, the foreign ministry said, as part of efforts to thaw long-frozen ties following a recent bilateral summit. South Korea sent an official letter to Japan earlier in the day via diplomatic channels informing of its decision to fully restore the General Security of Military Information Agreement (GSOMIA) between the neighbors, the ministry said. Signed in 2016, GSOMIA was seen as a rare symbol of security cooperation between Seoul and Tokyo before the former administration of President Moon Jae-in decided to terminate it in 2019 in protest of Japan's export restrictions against South Korea.

 

LVMH CEO Bernard Arnault meets with department store executives over partnerships
LVMH Chairman and CEO Bernard Arnault has discussed potential partnerships with top executives of South Korean department stores, officials said Tuesday, as the French luxury empire is seeking to boost its presence in Asia's fourth-largest economy. Arnault held a series of separate meetings with top executives of three local department stores -- Shinsegae Department Store, Hyundai Department Store and Hanwha Group's Galleria Department Store -- as well as Lotte Group Chairman Shin Dong-bin.

 

Under bright spotlight, Klinsmann sets out on mission to silence critics
South Korea's football friendly match against Colombia on Friday will be a rare occasion where one man on the bench will be under a brighter spotlight than any player on the pitch. It will be the South Korea coaching debut for Jurgen Klinsmann, a German football icon with an impeccable playing resume but a coaching CV with a few question marks. Klinsmann will also take the first step toward putting his fingerprints on a team that played for one head coach for the past 4 1/2 years.

 

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The Korea Herald (http://www.koreaherald.com )

Korea readies to normalize GSOMIA
South Korea has informed Japan of completely normalizing a military intelligence-sharing pact between the two countries, which had been operated conditionally since 2019, the Foreign Ministry said Tuesday. Seoul sent an official letter to the neighboring country on fully restoring the pact known as the General Security of Military Information Agreement, which follows a list of agreements unveiled after last week's bilateral summit held in Tokyo. The pact had been suspended in 2019 by the former Moon Jae-in government after Japan imposed export restrictions on South Korea in what was widely seen as retaliation for 2018 a ruling by South Korea's top court on forced labor regarding Japan's 1910-45 colonial occupation of the Korean Peninsula.

 

Sanctions target N. Korean satellites
South Korea on Tuesday revealed fresh sanctions banning items linked to North Korea’s satellite development, pushing for tighter curbs on its nuclear and missile programs amid the isolated country’s search for better “nuclear counterattack capabilities.” The Foreign Ministry in Seoul announced a watchlist of 77 items -- including antennas, optical devices, solar panels and camera power supplies -- to prevent Pyongyang from importing such materials either directly or indirectly via a third country to build missiles. The North simulated a nuclear attack on the South and the US over the weekend.

 

Boryung to set up JV with US space station developer
South Korean drug maker Boryung said Tuesday the company will establish a joint venture with US commercial space station developer Axiom Space in its latest foray into the space health care industry. (Boryung) came to an agreement with Axiom Space yesterday to establish a joint venture in South Korea," Boryung CEO Jay Kim said during the company's annual shareholders meeting, held at its headquarters in Seoul on Tuesday. According to Boryung, the two companies have signed a letter of intent to establish the joint venture company in South Korea.

 

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The Korea Times (http://www.koreatimes.co.kr )

Korean firms balk at donating to fund compensating victims of Japan's forced labor
Most of the state-run and private Korean companies that benefited from the 1965 Korea-Japan treaty appear to be hesitant about donating to a fund compensating Korean victims of forced labor under Japan's colonial rule, according to industry officials, Monday. The treaty enabled the resumption of bilateral diplomatic relations after WWII, in exchange for $500 million (655 billion won) in economic assistance Japan provided to Korea. The stances of the companies could weaken the government's push to resolve decades of bilateral friction over the politically and diplomatically charged issue, despite the recent summit between the leaders of the two countries.

 

Lotte desperate to win LVMH Chairman Arnault's heart
LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton Chairman Bernard Arnault is a global fashion magnate who owns dozens of world-class luxury brands such as Louis Vuitton, Dior, Tiffany & Co. and Dom Perignon. The chairman made regular visits to Korea between 2016 and 2019 until the pandemic. These visits have always drawn attention among local fashion firms' chiefs. A good opportunity arose for them to invite Arnault to their department stores and discuss business on the spot. In 2010, Hotel Shilla CEO Lee Boo-jin went to Incheon International Airport herself to greet Arnault and successfully convinced him to open a Louis Vuitton boutique at her duty free shop ― beating out rival Lotte Duty Free.


Korea to ease emission reduction targets for firms by expanding nuclear energy use
Korea has opted to lower its greenhouse gas emission targets for industries by expanding nuclear and renewable energy use in a move to ease the burden on local manufacturers, a presidential commission said Tuesday. According to the plan announced by the 2050 Carbon Neutrality and Green Growth Commission, a presidential committee chaired by Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, the government will spend $41.8 billion by 2027 to lower the nationally determined contribution (NDC) target for industries to 11.4 percent.

 

 

 

 

What’s ticking around the world at this second?

See what the world media around the world have to report:

USA Today www.usatoday.com aallman@gannett.com

The New York Times www.nytimes.com inytletters@nytimes.com

Wall Street Journal www.wsj.com support@wsj.com, service@wsj-asia.com

Financial Times www.ft.com ean@ft.com

The Times www.thetimes.co.uk help@timesplus.co.uk

The Sun www.thesun.co.uk talkback@the-sun.co.uk

Chinese People's Daily www.people.com.cn kf@people.cn

China Daily www.chinadaily.com.cn circulation@chinadaily.com.cn

Gwangmyeong Daily www.gmw.cn webmaster@gmw.cn

Japan's Yomiuri www.yomiuri.co.jp japannews@yomiuri.com

Asahi www.asahi.com customer-support@asahi.com

Mainichi www.mainichi.jp

Le Monde www.ilemonde.com

Italy LaRepubblica www.quotidiano.repubblica.it vittorio.zucconi@gmail.com

Germany Frankfurter AllgemeineZeitung www.faz.net anzeigen.ausland@faz.de

SüddeutscheZeitung www.sueddeutsche.de forum@sueddeutsche.de

Australia Brisbane Times www.brisbanetimes.com.au syndication@fairfaxmedia.com.au

Sydney Morning Heraldwww.smh.com.au

Colombia Reports http://colombiareports.com

Bogota Free Planet http://bogotafreeplanet.com, bfp@bogotafreeplanet.com

El Universal http://www.eluniversal.com.mx/english

Andes http://www.andes.info.ec/en

Ecuador Times http://www.ecuadortimes.net

The Jordan Times https://www.jordantimes.com

LSM.lv http://www.lsm.lv/en

The Baltic Times http://www.baltictimes.com lithuania@baltictimes.com, estonia@baltictimes.com, editor@baltictimes.com

El Pais http://elpais.com/elpais/inenglish.html

Philippine Daily Inquirer https://www.inquirer.net

Daily News Hungary http://dailynewshungary.com

Budapest Times http://budapesttimes.hu

 

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Sri Lanka: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hByX92Y2aGY&t=22s

Morocco: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jfFmp2sVvSE

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